CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has proposed exempting the first $10,200 in unemployment benefits received in 2020 from the state income tax.
The Republican governor’s legislation before lawmakers would apply to nearly $1.36 billion in unemployment payments, according to his office. Over 197,000 people in West Virginia received some amount of unemployment aid in 2020.
“Some other states are requiring their people to pay taxes on the unemployment they received as a result of the pandemic,” Justice said. “We’re not going to do that in West Virginia. We need to stand rock solid with all of our fellow West Virginians who had to endure some really tough times over the past year.”
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